Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has expressed his confidence in the Indian cricket team's chances of winning the ODI World Cup on home soil. Hosting the tournament for the first time exclusively, the pressure is on the Indian team, especially given the absence of ICC trophies since 2016.
While talking to Sports Tak, Raina, who won the 2011 World Cup-winning squad, pointed out that the past three ODI World Cups were clinched by the host nations. He stated, "When India are playing at home, we know how much expectation there is but the team must try and play the situation. We won the World Cup here in 2011, Australia won in Australia in 2015 and England won on home soil four years ago. There is a very good opportunity here for India to win the World Cup in front of their own fans and I am confident they can do it."
Highlighting the strengths of the team, Raina emphasised the importance of Ravichandran Ashwin's experience. He also praised the bowling lineup, mentioning, "I have that confidence for several reasons. We have a very good bowling line-up who know how to bowl in the conditions. Ravi Ashwin, who was part of our winning squad in 2011, is now in the squad and adds that experience, and having Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj firing again after their injuries is massive. Our pace attack complements each other well and Bumrah, in particular, is looking sorted now. He has recovered well and he is a very important player in this World Cup."
Raina also highlighted the prowess of the batting lineup, noting, "With the bat, Virat Kohli will anchor the show and look to bat through the overs. We also have a very solid opening pair. Shubman Gill averages over 60 in ODI cricket and Rohit Sharma has scored three double centuries in this format – and hit five centuries at the last World Cup. If the top three can bat 25-30 overs, we can easily put a lot of runs on the board."
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